


The Craft

by JessBakesCakes



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 16:03:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1095922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessBakesCakes/pseuds/JessBakesCakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Often, she wished that others could try her craft as she tried theirs.  But as crazy as it sounded, she liked that these opportunities were open to the best of the best.  Even if the best of the best in Pawnee was a little strange, Leslie counted herself among the few.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Craft

**Author's Note:**

  * For [minnaleigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/minnaleigh/gifts).



> The way minnaleigh sees Leslie is so fascinating to me, that I hope I do it justice. Happy Yuletide!

“Our very first Pawnee Knit a Thon is this weekend,” Leslie announced, pacing the room as she uncapped and recapped a dry erase marker. “We have all the facilities requests in, our Pawnee artists are offering classes as well as items for sale… it’s going to be excellent. There’s only one problem.”

“There’s always a problem,” Tom said, leaning back in his chair. “There’s always some lame person in Pawnee who has some moral objection to whatever it is we’re doing.”

“How long have you worked here again? You act like this is new.” Donna put her nail file back into her purse. “Anyway. Who cares? I, for one, think knitting itself is hella boring. But people who knit can make some fine ass stuff. It is sweater weather, and you best believe I will be taking advantage.”

Leslie held her hands up in the air as though to gather the attention of the room. “The problem is that Jamm has assembled a group of…” She paused. As much as she loved Pawnee, these past few months had taught her a lot about how she truly felt about a lot of its citizens. The word frustrated didn’t even begin to describe it. 

And yet, her heart swelled with pride for Pawnee. For her government, for her accomplishments. For her neighbors and her friends. She loved it too much to write it off. Even when they had written her off. Although she was not a councilwoman anymore, she so desperately wanted to give back to the city that had given her so much.

Even if part of what it had given her was that stabby pain she got behind her eyes when she dealt with this sort of thing.

“Say it,” Ben urged. “You know you want to.”

“Jamm has assembled a group of Crazy Cat Ladies, self-titled, I swear, to stage a protest against the Knit a Thon.” Leslie sighed. “He knows he’s won in the long run, and yet he continues to make my life miserable in the smallest, most annoying of ways. Like when you have a hair on your arm and you can’t find where it is, and you go like this all day.” 

Leslie groped at her arm, pinching at random spots to demonstrate her hypothetical plight of the invisible hair.

“We got it, Leslie.” Ann placed a hand on Leslie’s shoulder.

Tom giggled. “A Crazy Cat Lady protest? All we have to do to nip that one in the bud is let a whole bunch of puppies loose and sic them on the cats. Problem solved! And solved adorably.”

“Let’s do that, but with Rottweilers instead.” April didn’t look up from her phone.

“We are not going to stoop to their level,” Leslie said. “We’re going to listen to all their fears, and we’re going to address them at a town hall meeting.”

“Yeah, what are their fears, anyway?” Ben scratched his head. “I thought cats liked yarn.”

Leslie nodded. “I did too. Apparently the Ladies feel that the discarded pieces of yarn will pose danger to the cats’ intestines.”

“While it is a known fact that feline digestive systems are, in fact, quite sensitive, I do need to call into question the stupidity of the cat owners themselves. It’s survival of the fittest. If they’re stupid enough to eat some loose yarn, then it’s probably for the better.” Ron stood up from his chair. “Now, I will not participate in any more of this ridiculous conversation.”

The team brainstormed solutions to the Crazy Cat Lady Dilemma, and came up short. Leslie found herself in her office, sorting tubs of yarn by color. She always wished she had some sort of creative crafting talent that she could share with others. Of course, she made gifts for her friends on Christmas, or Galentine’s Day, or other occasions, but there was something about someone who devoted his or her free time to creating something out of nothing that was so fascinating to her.

She’d tried baking before, but when she almost burned down Ann’s house trying to bake Harry Potter butterbeer cupcakes, she decided it was time to try something else. She took a painting class for a few weeks, but that ended when she stayed up late trying to finish a painting and went to class with paintbrushes stuck in her hair. 

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that government was her passion. No, she couldn’t paint, or draw, or knit, or bake. But she could put on a Freddy Spaghetti concert for the kids of Pawnee when it seemed like it would never happen. She could get a controversial bill to pass using her creativity and a little help from her friends. 

Just like a musician spent countless hours practicing since childhood, Leslie started at a yong age, consuming every bit of information she could about government, politicians, and different theories, parties, and bills. She became well informed, motivated, and above all, passionate about her government and her town. Often, she wished that others could try her craft as she tried theirs. But as crazy as it sounded, she liked that these opportunities were open to the best of the best. Even if the best of the best in Pawnee was a little strange, Leslie counted herself among the few. She and her co-workers (except Jerry, of course) were lucky enough to have a hand in improving the everyday lives of the people around them. 

This time tomorrow, Leslie would be gathering yarn scraps and posting pictures of completed projects on the Pawnee Parks and Recreation department website. Jamm and his Crazy Cat Ladies could protest, sure. But just as an accomplished baker could bake a few dozen cupcakes at the eleventh hour for a surprise event, she could charm the ladies (and perhaps even the cats) in her own way. 

She would never hang a painting in a museum, or win a reality show in which she was forced to use strange ingredients to create the perfect cupcake. But what Leslie did made a difference for the people of Pawnee. Even if they didn’t always notice or appreciate it.


End file.
